The "Ussurij Conflict" begins


Der sogenannte „Ussurij-Konflikt“ beginnt – das Klima zwischen den sozialistischen Bruderstaaten Sowjetunion und China wird sehr rau! Und die Welt schrammt haarscharf an einem atomaren Konflikt vorbei!

Offiziell befinden sich beide Staaten in bestem Einvernehmen. Doch die Realität sieht anders aus!

On March 2, 1969, soldiers of the Soviet border troops and members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army fought bloody battles on the border river Ussurij near Damanskij Island (near Khabarovsk), in which several soldiers were killed on both sides.

History knows only a few authentic images that show how immediately a conflict breaks out. There are some here ...

The skirmishes are triggered when a Soviet military patrol (front right) encounters Chinese soldiers on Russian territory. ..:



First there is wild discussion (the Soviet patrol leader Lieutenant Vitaly Bubenin in the foreground can clearly be seen that he is wishing to be very far away - be you as a lieutenant responsible for the outbreak of war) ...





... then a wild brawl begins ...





...during which Lieutenant Bubenin is beaten to hospital maturity...



... then starts shooting from both sides!










Exact information on the losses is not possible as both sides claim that they have higher losses than the other side. The two countries also blamed the other for the outbreak of the fighting.

The matter is even escalating!

On March 15, 1969, the Soviet Air Force attacked Chinese troops and the Soviet military complained that the Chinese military used civilians as human shields.

The Soviet Army finally conquered the Damanskij (chin .: Zhenbao) river island with an area of 0.74 km²...:







Damanskij had been annexed by Tsarist Russia, but China never recognized it. Negotiations about the island failed as early as 1964. And to this day the border for both states has its own course ...



In addition to the conflict over the island in the Ussuri, there were other minor incidents along the border.

During the crisis, the strategic missile troops (nuclear weapons) in both countries are alerted to battle! The next higher level is then called "Fire!"

China has also had atomic bombs since 1964, so seven years after the Cuban Missile Crisis there was again the risk of nuclear war.

With the difference that during the Cuba crisis there were only threats, but both sides shot each other on the Ussuri! The matter was far more dangerous than the Cuba crisis - especially since there was still a lot of ideology involved!

Finally, the two countries manage to negotiate a ceasefire in secret. On the way home from Ho Chi Minh's funeral in Hanoi, Soviet Prime Minister Aleksey Kosygin visited Beijing and negotiations began with Foreign Minister Chou-en Lai to resolve the dispute ...:



The border conflict has not yet been finally resolved. The situation eased, but both countries continued to build military defenses along the border.